Modern Christmas tree born of Colorado engineer’s ingenuity, family’s love

A view of the red version of the Modern Christmas Tree (Provided by modernchristmastree.com)

Lawrence “Bud” Stoecker built homes – specifically, A-frames in the Rocky Mountains – but his grandson, Matt Bliss, considers his large and close-knit family to be the late engineer’s greatest creation.

Second greatest, perhaps, would be his Modern Christmas Tree, a hanging, conical arrangement of concentric hoops from which Stoecker every year suspended glittery ornaments. Now Stoecker’s grandson, Matt Bliss, 37, is memorializing his grandfather by selling Stoecker’s creation, also known as the Memory Tree, and using it to do good for Alzheimer’s disease patients.

The versions of the tree that Bliss purveys on ModernChristmasTrees.com are a kinetic creations that, uplit from the floor, fill a room with dancing reflections of rich color. The large tree, 7.5 feet tall, sells for $599 (small for $199, medium $399). One of the trees will be auctioned this Saturday (Nov. 17) at the 2012 Fantasy Ball, which benefits The Adoption Exchange. Corporate clients such as Red Bull and Disney World also have them. And they’re made in Colorado by RMI Plastics Inc. of Denver

The blue Modern Christmas Tree, hung with bulbs. (Provided by Modern Christmas Tree)

Bud Stoecker died about a month ago, and Bliss remembers him as “an amazing man. … He was super creative, funny, loving, a great, funny husband, father and grandfather.” Stoecker worked as an engineer, but wasn’t happy in the corporate world, and decided to quit and built a business constructing A-frame homes and cabins. “It was tough work, long hours. It was a family business for the majority of my grandfather’s life.”

Money was tight, but the Modern Christmas Tree was always more about creativity than thrift, Bliss says. “My grandfather thought like an engineer, but he had an artist inside him. I stripped down and simplified (the tree) for today, and tried to highlight the most important pieces. But he understood all of that stuff, too. You can see that he played around with light.” Bliss is referring to the many family photos that fill the company’s website.

Bliss remembers seeing the tree going back to about when he was only six years old. “Every year, he would code how he decorated the tree” to avoid repeating its patterns the next year. “He was an engineer, and his brain worked this way.”

Which made it especially difficult for his children and grandchildren when Stoecker began to suffer from Alzheimer’s disease. Bliss still chokes up trying to talk about it. About a year ago, Bliss began the tree project, gathering a few creative friends to set up a website and help him market the tree at trade shows.

“My plan was to honor him any way I could, to show people who he was and tell people about him, how talented he was. Some of the last days that I saw him, he always tried to have a sense of humor.” Bliss says he’s been able to raise a few thousand dollars for the Alzheimer’s Association and hopes to raise more this year. About 20 percent of profits goes to the charity, Bliss says.

Also known as the Memory Tree, Stoecker’s creation will be available at the Mod Livin’ store in Denver. And, says Bliss, each of Stoecker’s grandchildren will get a Memory Tree.

Do you have a story about Bud Stoecker you’d like to share? Contact us at home@denverpost.com

Becky Hensley is the co-founder of Share Denver - a community craft space in Park Hill. She's also the proud Ninja-in Chief of the Denver Craft Ninjas -- a women’s crafting collective dedicated to keeping the DIY spirit alive through laughter, shared skills, and cocktails.

Colorado native Mark Montano is an international designer, artist, author and television personality. He has appeared on TLC’s “While You Were Out” and “10 Years Younger,” as well as “My Celebrity Home” on the Style Network, “She’s Moving In” on We TV, “The Tony Danza Show” on ABC, and “My Home 2.0” on Fox.